Tag: mrt

Highway construction drives national economic growth – LLM

KUALA LUMPUR: Highway construction continues to be an important catalyst for the country's economic growth through job creation, strengthening supply chains and opening up business opportunities, according to the Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM). LLM Director General, Mohd Hadzmir Yusoff said that highway projects not only open up job opportunities for contractors, but also stimulate the use of local labor as well as supporting industry activities. "When the highway is completed, facilities such as Rest and Care (R&R) areas will also be developed, thus opening up space for traders to conduct business and boost local economic activities," he said. He said this to Bernama after being a guest on Bernama TV's Ruang Bicara programme titled "Needs and Challenges in Building Highways in Cities", here last night. Commenting on the current needs, Mohd Hadzmir said that the construction of highways within the city is still critical due to the increasing number of vehicles and high levels of congestion. "The city's road network is now increasingly congested with daily traffic flow estimated at between 5.5 million and six million vehicles," he said. He said the increase in new vehicles was also putting pressure on existing road capacity, with about 600,000 new vehicles registered last year. "If there is no increase in highways, the existing road capacity will no longer be sufficient to accommodate this increase in vehicles," he said. Meanwhile, he explained that highway development is implemented through a public-private partnership (PPP) model, where construction costs are borne by the concession company and returned through toll collection. However, he admitted that highway construction was not the sole solution to long-term congestion and needed to be supported by the use of public transport. "In the long term, congestion can still occur even if the highway is built. Therefore, users are encouraged to use public transportation such as the LRT (Light Rail Transit) and MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) to reduce congestion," he said. Meanwhile, IJM Corporation Bhd Toll Division Chief Executive Officer Chua Lay Hoon said Malaysians still rely on private vehicles, thus demanding continuous improvements to road infrastructure. "With the continued increase in vehicles, the lack of new highway development is likely to worsen congestion," he said. He said that highway development not only meets the current needs of users, but also supports overall economic and social growth. -- BERNAMA

KUALA LUMPUR: Highway construction continues to be an important catalyst for the country’s economic growth through job creation, strengthening supply chains and opening up business opportunities, according to the Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM). LLM Director General, Mohd Hadzmir Yusoff said that highway projects not only open up job opportunities for contractors, but also stimulate the […]